Graduate Student News
Olga Radovic, a graduate student, performing with the UConn Symphony Orchestra at von der Mehden Recital Hall
Fall 2024 Fellows and Trainees – Register by July 1
If you have been awarded a prestigious external fellowship, a traineeship on an institutional training grant, or one of The Graduate School’s Jorgensen, Harriott, or Crandall fellowships for the upcoming academic year (as determined by UConn’s Policy on Competitive Federal Graduate Fellowship Awards and Policy on Non-Federal Graduate Fellowship Awards), we strongly recommend that you register for the fall semester no later than July 1 so that your first stipend disbursement can be issued on time. External prestigious fellows and trainees are required to be registered for the stipend to be disbursed. Full-time enrollment for a graduate student is nine credits unless you have also been appointed as a GA for the semester, in which case, full-time enrollment is six credits.
Registration by July 1 is beneficial in the following ways:
- Timely disbursement of the first stipend payment
- Allows time for your fee bill to be properly paid and deferred before the start of classes so holds are not placed on your account due to an unpaid fee bill.
- Ensures you are offered the opportunity to enroll in the CT Partnership Plan health insurance, and if applicable, that the Student Health Insurance Plan is removed from your fee bill
- Allows access to Area 2 parking
You are free to continue adjusting your schedule through the end of the add/drop period (the tenth day of the semester), but we recommend adding your new courses before dropping any to maintain consistent full-time enrollment after the semester has begun. If you will have enrollment for the semester that is below nine credits, please notify your department admin so payment made toward your fee bill can be adjusted.
More information about registration for graduate students can be found in The Graduate School’s Fall 2024 Registration Information for Graduate Students message. Please reach out to grad@uconn.edu with any questions.
Fall 2024 Conference Participation Award
We are pleased to announce that The Graduate School’s Conference Participation Award (formerly the Doctoral Student Travel Award) will be accepting applications from June 1 through June 30, 2024.
The Graduate School is committed to helping graduate students achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals during their time at the University of Connecticut. In support of this goal, The Graduate School offers a Conference Participation Award to support students’ ability to present their research at national or international meetings and conferences, including both in-person and virtual events. This conference participation fellowship in the amount of $750 will be awarded for Fall 2024 and paid through the student’s fee bill. If awarded, students will be notified in late-July. Please review the eligibility criteria for the fellowship carefully before applying.
Students are responsible for knowing any and all travel advisories, restrictions, and relevant University policies and should plan accordingly. Students should stay up to date with information shared by the U.S. Department of State and the University’s Travel Services office.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The applicant must be a doctoral or MFA student.
- The applicant must be enrolled in the semester for which the fellowship is awarded, e.g., fall semester for applications due by June 30.
- The applicant must have successfully completed at least 30 credits toward their degree program prior to applying for this fellowship unless their program requires less than 30 credits with a prior master’s degree.
- If a student has attained a master’s degree from another university and their program only requires 15 doctoral credits with a master’s degree, they qualify for eligibility upon completion of all 15 credits. A list of those programs can be found here.
- The applicant is not eligible if they have previously received a Doctoral Student Travel Award or Conference Participation Award.
- The funds are intended to be used for participation in a conference at which the student is presenting their research.
- Students at UConn Health and UConn Law are not eligible for this award.
Please note, fellowships are not guaranteed, as funds are limited and pending budgetary approval. We hope to provide funding to all eligible applicants, but eligible students who are not awarded in this cycle will be encouraged to apply in the next cycle.
The deadline for application is June 30, 2024. Applications received following this date will not be considered. You can access the application form and more information here.
Faculty Affiliates for Inclusive Excellence
Colleagues,
The Graduate School continues to host two Faculty Affiliates for Inclusive Excellence for two year staggered terms. We are looking for one new affiliate to serve a two year term beginning in Fall 2024, who will work alongside our continuing affiliate, Mary Anne Amalaradjou. Our affiliates focus on improving support for students from minoritized communities and on improving faculty mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with a particular focus on improving mentoring for those from minoritized groups. Affiliates will create innovative ideas and initiatives, such as developing resources and establishing programs that future faculty affiliates can sustain with support from The Graduate School staff. The affiliates will work very closely with one another in addition to working with The Graduate School staff and with relevant faculty and staff throughout the University, especially the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the cultural centers.
Affiliates will devote an average of 3-4 hours per week to their service for which they will receive a research stipend of $7500. There will also be some funds available to support initiatives that the affiliates develop.
We invite both applications and nominations for the affiliate positions. Please contact Kent Holsinger (kent.holsinger@uconn.edu), Mary Bernstein (Mary.Bernstein@uconn.edu) or Karen Bresciano (karen.bresciano@uconn.edu) if you would like more information about becoming an affiliate or if you would like to nominate someone. To apply, email graduatedean@uconn.edu and include a brief statement (no more than 1-2 pages) describing why you are interested in the position, the experience you have that makes you a good candidate for the position, and an initial idea or two about what you would plan to accomplish if you were selected as an affiliate. We will begin considering applications and nominations on May 15th, and the review will continue until affiliates have been selected.
In the past two years, our affiliates developed mentorship guides for faculty and graduate students to promote inclusive excellence and launched a Network for Enriched Mentorship (NEM) designed to connect mentees with mentors outside of their coursework and dissertations who have experience navigating obstacles (e.g., systemic bias, personal hardship, alternative career trajectories) or who can be effective and accountable allies.
Interested applicants could develop projects that support an equitable and supportive educational environment and that fosters a sense of community, with a particular focus on providing support for graduate students and postdocs from minoritized groups. Ideas for other creative projects are welcome.
Kent Holsinger
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Kent E. Holsinger
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of The Graduate School
Graduate School News from UConn Today
Community, Collaboration, and Preparation
The Graduate School is dedicated to the welfare and progress of its students. We strive to strengthen this through a commitment to the ideas of creating community, promoting collaboration, and addressing your academic, professional, and career preparation. UConn is committed to fostering a diverse and dynamic culture that prepares you to meet the challenges of a changing global society.
The Graduate School leads and coordinates a variety of activities and resources to navigate your pathway through graduate school and to enrich the overall personal and professional experience of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Our vision for training of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars rests on three pillars as outlined in our academic plan.
Community: The Graduate School will enhance the quality of life for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars by nurturing an engaged community of scholars that includes all disciplines and all campuses.
Collaboration: The Graduate School will foster the development of inter-, cross-, multi-, and trans- disciplinary research and teaching programs by removing barriers to cross-departmental, cross-program, and cross-campus graduate and postdoctoral education.
Preparation: The Graduate School will enhance career and professional development of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars through programs designed to enhance discipline-independent, transferable skills. We utilize a framework of three categories to help students and scholars prioritize their activity: Professional Engagement, Career Development, Personal Growth.
